Oz,
I agree that the killings were not premeditated. The confusion about what was actually going on right before the shooting started created a "fog" on both sides. I guess this is why Clausewitz calls it "the fog of war."
I tend to put more credence in the statements and testimony of the survivors rather on those emotional accounts from the outside looking in. Forty-three of the Americans taken prisoner that day managed to escape and lived to tell about it. Here are the facts as accounted for by several of the American Survivors:
Fact: Survivors stated that they could hear one of the American Officers shouting "Standfast" to the stirring Americans as disorder escalated through the ranks.
Opinion: The fact that an American Officer would shout “Standfast” indicates to me that the Germans were not firing into the American ranks at this stage of the incident. If the Germans were firing into the American ranks with machineguns, the American Officer would have probably shouted something like “Run” or “Hit the deck.”
Fact: Germans opened up on the stirring Americans with machinegun and rifle fire. Note: At this point there is much conjecture about further breaking of ranks and attempts to overpower the German soldiers who were searching the Americans and whether the next series of shots were warning shots that created a chain reaction of firing.
Fact: Germans walked among the fallen Americans and administered the coup de grace shots to dying Americans. This action was a violation of the Law of War and clearly a war crime.
Semper Fi!
Rick
Rick, I agree totally with the facts you provided except for the above three which I think are the crux of the tragedy.
The fact that a US officer felt the need to order his men to "Standfast" strongly indicates to me that a significant number of the US soldiers were actually running rather than just 'stirring'. The US officer could indeed have shouted 'Standfast' because the Germans had already shot several escaping prisoners and the officer didn't want to see a general escape attempt with more being shot. This theory is supported by the fact that over forty survived, perhaps because they were those that did not run. (It is a well established fact that once prisoners attempt to escape the accepted rules say they can be shot - it is that simple.)
The Germans had absolute control of that area at that stage and the subsequent three to four weeks. And in truth I cannot see forty guys escaping across snow in daylight where they could have been tracked down in short time. I suspect very few escaped the searching Germans, and once caught they would most likely have been shot out of hand because they were escaping prisoners.
Furthermore, if the US officer believed they were being setup to be wiped out as unrequired prsioners he would have been VERY unlikely to shout 'Standfast' at ANY stage.
It should also be noted that the machine guns mentioned could well have been Machine Pistols that many German soldiers, particulary NCO's, carried rather than rifle ammo type machine guns. I don't know what firearms were actually used that day near Malmady, but considered that worth mentioning.
As for the credence of the witnesses. It should be noted that a number of the surviving US soldiers were coerced into giving evidence that wasn't entirely true. Whereas the Belgian civilians had no axe to grind, except perhaps against the invading Germans. In addition imo the survivors are much more likely than any civilians to have been affected emotionally by the incident, making the civilians version perhaps more reliable.
That said, I agree that shooting injured soldiers is technically a war crime. However, I understand it was not an uncommon practice by soldiers of all sides and perhaps welcomed by the injured person in some circumstances - not that that is a defence I guess.
As for a definition of masscre, of which there are many. Suffice to say we had a similar event in Australia but I don't feel either side ever viewed it as a masscre. Australia and Japan have more or less got over it as being one of those unpleasant events that happen in war especialy where there is a clash of different cultures:
http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/anecdotes/cowra.html
